It’s Time to Take the Christ Out of Christmas :: Argumentative Persuasive Argument Essays

Its check to Take the Christ Out of Christmas Christmas in America is an exuberant break of human ingenuity, capitalist productivity, and the enjoyment of life. Yet all of these are castigated as materialistic the real meaning of the vacation, we are told, is assorted Nativity tales and altruist injunctions (e.g., love thy neighbor) that no one takes seriously.In fact, Christmas as we celebrate it now is a 19th-century American invention. The freedom and prosperity of post Civil fight America created the happiest nation in history. The result was the desire to celebrate, to revel in the replete(p)s and pleasures of life on earth. Christmas (which was not a federal holiday until 1870) became the guide American outlet for this feeling.Historically, people have always celebrated the spend solstice as the time when the days begin to lengthen, indicating the earths return to life. Ancient Romans feasted and reveled during the feast of Saturnalia. Early Christians condemned these Roman celebrations--they were waiting for the end of the world and had only lower for earthly pleasures. By the fourth century the pagans were worshipping the god of the sun on December 25, and the Christians came to a decision if you cant stop em, join em. They claimed (contrary to known fact) that the date was Jesus birthday, and usurped the solstice holiday for their Church.Even after the Christians stole Christmas, they were ambivalent about it. The holiday was inherently a pro-life festival of earthly renewal, but the Christians preached renunciation, sacrifice, and upkeep for the next world, not this one. As Cotton Mather, an 18th-century clergyman, put it Can you in your consciences think that our Holy Savior is honored by mirth? . . . Shall it be said that at the birth of our Savior . . . we take time . . . to do actions that have much more of hell than of heaven in them?thence came the study developments of 19th-century capitalism industrialization, urbanization, the tr iumph of science--all of it leading to easy transportation, efficient get by delivery, the widespread publishing of books and magazines, new inventions making life comfortable and exciting, and the vacate of entrepreneurs who understood that the way to make a profit was to produce something good and sell it to a mass market.For the first time, the giving of gifts became a major feature of Christmas. Early Christians denounced gift-giving as a Roman practice, and Puritans called it diabolical.